Brooklyn sees surge of residential development along the waterfront

From left: the Brooklyn waterfront and Jeffrey Levine, chairman of Douglaston Development

The entire waterfront of Brooklyn is ripe for new residential development, Crain’s reported. Massive developments are rising, from more predictable spots, such as Williamsburg, down to less likely spots such as Sunset Park, along the east river and ocean, the magazine said.

“Rents and the economy in general have come roaring back since the depths of the Great Recession,” Jeffrey Levine, chairman of Douglaston Development, told Crain’s. Douglaston is building a $300 million, 509-unit rental tower in Williamsburg, at North 4th Street and Kent, near the Edge.

Down the river, Toll Brothers is working on three residential towers in Dumbo, Crain’s said, and in Sunset Park, Salmar Properties won a bid to build new residences at the Bush Terminal.

Rezoning has helped developers progress with waterfront projects, even in the down economy, Crain’s said.

“We’ve made incredible strides in taking an area that many people had left for dead and bringing a working waterfront back to life,” Seth Pinsky, president of the Economic Development Corporation, told Crain’s. “The waterfront is one of the more underutilized parts of the city.” [Crain’s]